By Madeline Stewart
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Some restrictions on dining, sports, and gatherings in the city of Baltimore will be lifted starting Monday morning, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday.
The one-hour maximum on seated dining in Baltimore city restaurants announced in January will be lifted at 6 a.m. Monday, while the 25% maximum occupancy on indoor dining and 50% maximum occupancy restrictions for outdoor dining remain. Restaurants will continue to maintain sign-in and sign-out records of patrons and staff, Scott said.
Business owners were relieved.
“It was pretty much impossible to get guests seated, have drinks ordered and made, food ordered, dinners made, oysters shucked, diners eat their meal, paid and out in the span of an hour,” Dylan Salmon, owner of Dylan’s Oyster Cellar in Hampden told the Baltimore Watchdog.
However, Salmon said he will continue to limit dining time as restrictions are lifted because most diners remain concerned about safety.
“We plan on sticking to an hour and a half— that will keep diners and our staff safe, and works for our staff,” he said.
Fitness classes will be permitted at 25% occupancy or 10 people, whichever metric allows for a higher number of participants, Scott said. Organized sports, including youth recreational and high school leagues are permitted if all participants and spectators are wearing face coverings, and all teams playing are from Maryland. Indoor amateur sporting events are limited to 25% occupancy, provided there are no more than 50 people per activity area.
Live performances will be permitted as long as all performers are wearing masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines.
“I continue to be encouraged by the continuous downward trend we see in our numbers,” Scott said. “More than halfway through February, our new cases are down approximately 48%, deaths are down 6%, and our positivity rate is down 50%. I want to thank Baltimoreans for adhering to the public health guidelines and doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our city.”
Maryland providers have administered a total of 936,557 Covid-19 vaccines, according to a vaccine update provided by the governor’s office on Wednesday. The state is averaging 26,360 vaccines administered per day based on a seven-day rolling average. Maryland is currently in stage 1C of the vaccine distribution plan, inoculating adults 65 and older, and critical workers in high-risk settings.
“Baltimore City continues to have one of the lowest positivity rates in the state but residents and visitors must remain vigilant,” Scott said. “Everyone must continue to wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, and avoid large gatherings if we want to continue to build on these gains and keep our community safe.”